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Managing the Modern Workplace, November 14, 2019
Recent events show that all it takes is one tweet from even a midlevel manager of a company to create an international incident.
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Last week on November 6, 2019, the SEC Enforcement Division released its annual report on the Commission’s enforcement activities for the fiscal year.
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On November 7, 2019, a Second Circuit panel1 heard oral argument on whether the use of United States wire services in effecting a bribery scheme is enough, without more, to pull defendants within the scope of U.S. criminal honest-services wire fraud statutes.2
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V&E SEC Update, November 13, 2019
On November 5, 2019, a divided Commission voted on two proposed rule amendments: Amendments to Exemptions from the Proxy Rules for Proxy Voting Advice (the “Proxy Advisory Proposed Rules”) and Procedural Requirements and Resubmission Thresholds under Exchange Act Rule 14a-8 (the “Rule 14a-8 Proposed Rules”).
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Managing the Modern Workplace, November 12, 2019
For three years, Texas law has allowed folks with a concealed license the right to carry their firearms openly. Texas continues to expand the rights of gun owners.
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Environmental Blog
In September 2019, a federal district court in Massachusetts ordered the owner of a fuel storage terminal to pay $1.2 million in civil penalties for violations of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
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Managing the Modern Workplace, November 7, 2019
States (and cities) across the
country are increasing protections for employees that are lactating. Effective
January 1, 2020, a new California law amends and broadens pre-existing requirements
for employers’ accommodations of lactating employees, as well as the penalties
for non-compliance.
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V&E Antitrust Update, November 7, 2019
Following months of speculation, on November 5, 2019, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) formally announced a new initiative targeting collusion in public procurement and government contracting.1
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The Criminal Information against two former executives of Unaoil, Inc. was unsealed on October 30, 2019, laying out the U.S. government’s case against them for facilitating bribes on behalf of companies in foreign countries in exchange for oil and gas contracts.1
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On November 2, 2019, the United States Supreme Court granted the petition for a writ of certiorari in Liu v. SEC to address whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has authority to recover disgorgement of ill-gotten profits from violators of the federal securities laws.1
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Managing the Modern Workplace, November 5, 2019
While firefighters and plumbers have long been used to it, more and more office employees are being required to be remain “on-call” outside normal work hours in order to accommodate the business needs of their employer.
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V&E Government Contracts Update, November 4, 2019
On October 18, 2019, in Raytheon Company v. Secretary of Defense, No. 2018-2371 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 18, 2019), the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”), holding that “salary costs for lobbying activities are expressly unallowable” under FAR 31.205-22 despite the fact that FAR 31.205-22 does not expressly list such salary costs as unallowable.
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Environmental Blog
Making good on President Trump’s
promise to corn-growing farmers, on October 28, 2019, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) published a supplemental
notice of proposed rulemaking (Supplemental Proposal) that will effectively
increase the renewable fuel obligations of non-exempt refiners and other obligated
parties beginning in compliance year (CY) 2020.
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Managing the Modern Workplace, October 31, 2019
As someone who grew up in Mexico City in a home where three languages were spoken (I spoke Spanish with my brother and my friends, French with my mother, and English with my father), I have never been uncomfortable in a workplace where employees might speak in a foreign language, even one that I don’t speak.
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Sarah Lawson, the General Counsel of the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”), recently emphasized that corporate compliance functions must be well resourced and that the SFO expects such programs should be insulated from routine cost-cutting pressures.
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Managing the Modern Workplace, October 29, 2019
If your company is a federal contractor, do not assume that the current administration is uninterested in enforcing discrimination laws. In fact, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has collected record amounts from government contractor employers during the Trump administration.
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Managing the Modern Workplace, October 24, 2019
On October 10, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that prohibits employers from requiring any applicant or employee “waive any right, forum or procedure for a violation of any provision of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.”
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The United States and the United Kingdom recently entered the first ever CLOUD Act Agreement, which aims to streamline the process by which either government can collect electronic evidence located in the other country.
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Managing the Modern Workplace, October 22, 2019
There are a lot of good folks out there who might help your company but who have noncompete agreements or other restrictions in agreements with their current or recent employers. To decide whether to hire such employees, you may decide that you should review their agreement, have discussions with them about the restrictions, and maybe even reach out to their prior employer.
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V&E Government Investigations Update, October 21, 2019
A new Department of Justice (“DOJ”) policy provides for additional transparency and long-needed guidance to prosecutors who often evaluate inability-to-pay claims by companies facing substantial criminal fines and penalties.
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